David Carrick, a former armed officer with the Metropolitan Police, has been convicted of a series of depraved sexual crimes, including the molestation of a schoolgirl and the repeated rape of a former partner, exposing a pattern of horrific abuse spanning 35 years.
A Trail of Abuse Uncovered
The 50-year-old ex-police officer, previously from Stevenage in Hertfordshire, was found guilty at the Old Bailey of five counts of indecent assault against a 12-year-old girl in the late 1980s. The court heard how the predatory Carrick abused the child for approximately 18 months before she confided in her mother.
In a damning piece of evidence, a written confession signed "Dave" was recovered from his medical records. In the letter, Carrick admitted the girl was "not crazy" and that her account was "true," claiming he had stopped the abuse four months prior and promised to never go near her again.
Decades later, between 2014 and 2019, Carrick's offending escalated. He was convicted of two counts of rape, one count of sexual assault, and coercive and controlling behaviour against a woman he met on a dating website. The jury, which deliberated for just five hours, heard how he presented as "charming, witty, sarcastic" but subjected her to degrading, humiliating, and violent abuse.
The Facade of a Police Officer
These latest convictions come after Carrick had already been handed 36 life sentences in 2023 with a minimum term of 32 years for pleading guilty to 71 sexual offences, including 48 rapes, against 12 women over a 17-year period.
During the recent trial, Carrick denied the fresh allegations but declined to give evidence. He claimed his sexual encounters with the woman were consensual and accused her of being motivated by the MeToo movement. He similarly dismissed the historic child abuse allegations, branding his young victim a liar, despite his own written admission.
Prosecutor Tom Little KC told the court that Carrick, shielded by his warrant card, must have felt "invincible" for two decades until his world came "crashing around his ears" in 2022.
Justice and a Damaged Institution
Following the verdicts, senior Crown prosecutor Shilpa Shah described Carrick as a "manipulative, controlling and abusive man" who hid behind a facade of charm. She praised the immense bravery of the victims in coming forward, calling it "one of the most horrific, harrowing cases" she has dealt with.
Detective Superintendent Iain Moor of Hertfordshire Constabulary stated that the future could have been very different if Carrick's 1990 confession had been handed to police at the time. He acknowledged that the Carrick case, alongside the murder of Sarah Everard by another serving Met officer, Wayne Couzens, has been "hugely damaging" to public trust in the police force.
Both police and prosecutors have urged any other victims of David Carrick's abuse to find the courage to come forward.
